Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin, 50 cl

Product Information

Talking to Gin Foundry for the 2016 Gin Annual, Monkey 47 Founder Alex Stein explained this moment of enlightenment: “I can remember the moment quite distinctly: I was sitting at my desk on a rainy day in Detroit when an old friend from Germany called me up and told me a story that would change my life in a fundamental way. This was, namely, the life story of the young officer and bon-vivant Montgomery Collins, the great-grandfather of our little Monkey.

Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin | Expert Gin Review Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin | Expert Gin Review

I simply think that there’s plenty of other gins as good at this one that don’t command such an exceptional price. Process wise, Monkey 47’s still size is what many small scale craft producers are working on. Sipsmith has been known to use multiple distillation techniques of the same plant material, their botanical number isn’t even that unusual— with several others in the 30+ space. Really the only thing unusual is the ultra-ultra-premium price point. It’s a good gin as I point out, but gin isn’t like whisky in that price is often correlated with process, i.e. time in the barrel. Stein describes lingonberries as being the ideal botanical in gin, as it inherently has a combination of the flavours that have always defined the spirit, namely a refreshing acidity, lasting bitterness and slight sweetness. So I guess what I’m saying is that this is too sophisticated a gin for my primitive palate. 😉 But I like it nevertheless as it represents a rarified standard (and with a rarified price) that most gins don’t approach. Remembering the innovation behind and early days of Monkey 47 Gin, Stein recalls “We didn’t want to create a “brand,” but rather the best gin possible. We set out to produce aromas, not alcohol. For that reason, we shouldn’t be mistaken for typical “spirits producers” or “liquor entrepreneurs”; we are schnapps distillers to the core and, like a perfumer, constantly on the hunt for aromas and fragrances. Simply put the plan was and is quality!” Second, we mixed it with an Elderflower Lemonade. This was a pre-bottled, carbonated soda. Rose and Elderflower came on strong at first, with lemon dominating the mids. The gin shone in the lower noes as lavender, rosemary, sweet orange and birch came through. It was a tough task, the lemonade remained the star, but overall, the gin offered enough to decide this mixed drink was not without merit.The story of Monkey 47 begins in the 1940s. In July 1945, to be precise! Wing Commander Montgomery “Monty” Collins of the Royal Air Force was posted to the British sector of divided Berlin. Having arrived in Berlin after the end of the war and taken up his post in the administration of the British sector, Commander Collins was profoundly affected by the extent of the destruction of the capital and so resolved to support the reconstruction of Germany in his free time. Henceforth he became devoted to the rebuilding of the Berlin Zoo, through which he came to sponsor an egret monkey by the name of Max. Mixed with Hansen’s Tonic in a Gin and Tonic, sweet pomelo at first with exotic herb garden notes on the after taste. Lemon verbena, lavender, garden mint, lead into a citrus-dominated finish with grapefruit and lemon zest. Quite nice. The UK’s only retail and commercial drinks specialist. We’ve been selling wholesale winesfor over 40 years. As a country-wide business, we know your customers and what they drink better than anyone else. Priced at ~30-35€ a bottle. Not to much for a great gin, comparing to the alternatives. Can’t compare it pricewise with €10-15 gin, it’s worth the price Nose: Oh there is a lot going on here... woody, vegetable smells under pin fresh grassy citrus notes and botanical sweetness, like a pine forest after the rain.

Monkey 47 Schwarzwald Dry Gin in Gift Box, 50 cl

I have to agree with those who say it tastes like the creators of Monkey were trying too hard, and in so doing they went to far. In 3 simple steps add a personalised message and make your bottle extra special with our engraving service.

Overall, Monkey 47 Gin

Excellent, balanced piece (Monkey 47 is something of a phenomenon both sides of the Atlantic) – but have you broken all of the crystal-ware again? – resorted to jam jars? 😉 The first thing that caught my eye was Scarlet Beebalm. I know it as an ornamental plant from gardens [and it attracts butterflies and hummingbirgs by the way]. The Oswego peoples of upstate New York taught Europeans a couple of uses for the plant. Resin from the plant is a natural soothing agent, often used for bee stings and the like. A tea can also be made from the plants leaves. For those of you curious about what it tastes like, it’s worth nothing that it’s also called bergamont by gardeners because its aroma is similar to that of the orange [and other common gin botanical] of the same name. Roberta F. 27. svibnja 2008. The nose is mentholated juniper, pineapple sage, lemon verbena, lavender, rose, hibiscus and lime. (!) This encyclopedic list merely reflects how incredibly complex and brightly aromatic this gin is. Your mileage might vary. There’s a lot in here, and I’m not sure any experts are going to agree on the exact list you get here on the nose. It’s nicely blended with a lot of hints of clues; rabbit holes of aroma that can be explored only to come up empty with a vague “floral” or “fruity” admission.

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Monkey 47 is one of my favorite gins, I have been drinking it with grapefruit juice, a little rosemary simple syrup and Crude Bitters Rizzo blend. Since it’s hard to find I typically only have it as a treat but it is superb Southern Germany may seem like a strange place to have a wealth of distilling expertise, but with a history of creating fruit liqueurs and brandies as well as being the home of many coppersmiths experienced in building stills, it remains (despite a now more global craft distilling revolution) probably one of the best places to create a new spirit.

Tasting Notes

In Europe this is one of the hottest gins around at premium bars. Price here is ~€30 per 50cl bottle. I love it dearly and it can be mixed in a wide variety. It has a very strong and distinct taste. A very powerful gin. I also strongly recommend Monkey 47 Sloe Gin.

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Fresh and fruity, with a lot of complicated nuance. There’s two levels on which you can enjoy this spirit: firstly, you can just appreciate the way it blends together to create a single powerful presence. Secondly, you can sit down as if to study it and probe the way this myriad of botanicals unravel on your palate. I think it’s rewarding for both kinds of drinkers, and it gets high marks in my book for the complexity and balance. The zingy citrus is assertive to taste upfront, but gives way to a rich bouquet of flavours including herbal juniper, juicy lingonberries, sweet liquorice, cardamom and hibiscus-like floral touches. Can you taste all 47 botanicals? No. Are they all doing something in there? Definitely! It’s a hugely complex, rich (and as an aside very smooth) gin and very difficult to pigeonhole into a brief tasting note. On the nose, there are numerous aromas and this fact alone makes Monkey 47 a great gin to keep returning to, as depending on your mood it’s easy to find a new facet that you may have previously overlooked. There are prevalent aromas of lime, fleshy berries and a woody forest floor undertone that give the gin both levity and depth. It’s very evocative.The Negroni was nice as well, with herbal, spice notes at first, setting the stage for an unctuous, fruity finish. Nice, though not as complex as I might have hoped. I didn’t have any problem finishing the bottle, but neither will I go out and buy another (especially at the price point). It really is a fantastic drink, imbibed alone with no adulterants….chilled in the freezer (the bottle is certainly small enough). Its expensive but worth it, best served over a cube of ice, you save the cash for tonic, lime and so on!